


Echinate

by CousinGreek



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Groping, Light Smut, M/M, Romance, Sleeping Together, Sonadow - Freeform, Sorry I'm being slow with my other fic it'll be updated soon, Species specific problems, Spines are sharp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 05:49:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18888433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CousinGreek/pseuds/CousinGreek
Summary: Sonic and Shadow sleep in the same bed for the first time. For any other Mobian species, there wouldn't be an issue with this. But Sonic and Shadow aren't just any other species.





	Echinate

Sleeping with another hedgehog was a strange process. Other species of Mobian were able to doze off with their partners wrapped up in warm blankets and take comfort in each other's soft fur. Sure there would be ones like Vector or Jet that had to keep up with differing coats, but few of his friends knew of the challenges that came with being a hedgehog. Short fur covered the majority of his body. The one problem area was his classic trademark. Spines were difficult to prune, wash, and sharpen regularly. ‘ _Think of them as these huge strands of extremely thick pointy hair, then you'll get an idea_ ’ he would rattle off to his peers when asked about the status of his best battle weapon.

They were something to take pride in though. It was pretty rewarding to see younger hedgehogs in the city stare in awe at their length. Most others like Amy would shave them down into a more manageable size.

There were only two others that were aware of his troubles, and they were Shadow and Silver. With Silver being from his own separate timeline and thus rarely seen, he began his first true relationship with Shadow on the topic of grooming. While it may have been awfully embarrassing at the time, Sonic would probably never take back asking his closest rival to help sharpen the spines of his upper back when they were too difficult to reach without a risk of lobbing them off to the root.

The two had grown closer since that evening. None of his other friends could truly understand the effort he went through to be presentable except for Shadow. They casually discussed their routines until Sonic was trusted enough to help with his newfound friend’s annual quilling. The kitchen of the small home he shared with Tails was soon littered with long black and red spines, Sonic picking out loose ends on the back-most bundles and Shadow working on ones at the sides of his head. Both hedgehogs enjoyed their conversations and listening to each other's preferred music over the lengthy process. They took breaks to get lunch or coffee together and from that point, Shadow never really stopped coming over.

Their romantically transformed partnership stayed private. No one but Tails, for seeing Shadow more, and Rouge, for seeing Shadow less, were in the know. He couldn't begin to imagine the other reactions they would get. Amy was sure to be supportive. Knuckles was likely to be confused and a tad irritated at the more frequent presence of his rival, but he would get over it with time. If word spread to the lengths of Eggman (who wouldn't mind using their bond against them), they would _all_ be fucked. 

So they stayed quiet and only let down their business-as-usual front behind closed doors.

They were partners (Sonic liked the cutesy boyfriend title but Shadow refused to use juvenile language for something he felt 'this serious' about) for almost three months now and living life to the fullest. Even when it came to personal relationships, both hedgehogs welcomed the quick pace of each others’ lifestyles. They shared their first kiss before the first date, and took to a bit of heavy petting by the second. Attempts were made to stall the progression of that physical aspect of their relationship, but it was just a matter of time before they gave in and went for it.

For now, they figured it was the right time for another step forward.

* * *

“For someone addicted to running, you sure watch a lot of television.”

Sonic pouted in reply to the snide remark and tossed another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“Whatever. I run for hours and this is my me time.”

“ _Me time_.” Shadow sputtered, "That's ridiculous.”

“I enjoy binge watching TV after running all day. That better? And you're one to talk Mr. ‘ _I need jasmine tea and a good murder mystery novel to relax’_.”

Shadow cracked a grin and pursed his lips. The blue pain in the ass was right. He wasn't that predictable, was he? It wasn't his fault humans were excellent horror story authors.

To be fair, Sonic’s current hype was around some thriller series he never seemed to shut up about. Shadow couldn't complain. The episodes were well produced and seeing his boyfriend light up in excitement with each new plot twist was adorable. So long as GUN had no mission or obnoxious meeting that ran into the afternoons, Shadow was practically a new member of the hedgehog-fox household.

The credits began to roll as the preview for the next episode popped into the bottom of the screen. He could sense sweet emerald eyes immediately on him.

“Just one more?”

Shadow shook his head, stretching his back from its previous slouch to being upright.

“I should get going.”

He pressed a swift peck onto Sonic’s lips before staring towards the door and slipping on his black company fleece. The air outside was becoming colder, and his favorite one had been missing for the past few days. The thick bomber sporting GUN’s logo and Shadow’s name over the right breast was now a prized possession of his blue counterpart. Despite the blood and machine oil stains littered over the navy blue leather, Sonic slept in the garment almost every night since stealing it. It insulated Shadow from the rain and snow and was the primary layer under a bulletproof vest donned during foreign missions, and apparently made an excellent night shirt as well.

Whatever. He could always order another one. It wasn’t like Shadow didn’t hoard pillowcases and blankets in return. The blue blur didn’t have clothing to steal but dammit he wanted to take something too. On missions across the world and alone in his own hammock at night, it gave him the little comfort he needed to sleep soundly when he had his partner’s scent so close.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Shadow perked back up to the sound of his name.

“What?”

“I said you should spend the night.”

Well that was a surprise. The agent couldn't keep another amused sputter from his mouth.

“You’re not sucking my dick while your little brother is in the house--”

“Not _that_ kind of spend the night! I mean...you should sleep with me instead of having to go all the way back to Westopolis.”

“Did you suddenly forget how chaos control works? And we wouldn't fit in your bed anyway. I'd probably roll the wrong way and stab your eye.”

Sonic feigned complacency, placing a hand over his chest at the mention of his tiny twin mattress.

“That's a risk I'm willing to take.”

The agent huffed out a low ‘fine’ and threw his jacket off and over the back of the couch. He followed an elated Sonic down the hall to his room, deadly cautious not to draw suspicion from the sleeping fox in the room just across from them. Sonic’s own bedroom was nothing short of an absolute catastrophe. The hero never seemed to have enough time to tidy up the overflowing trash in the corner of the room, or pick up the comic books scattered around a well-loved beanbag. Despite that, however, it was uniquely Sonic. It gave Shadow a sliver of ease whenever he came into the room knowing the living habits of his partner remained as unchanged as his character.

The two discarded their gloves and shoes with ease but found themselves standing at the side of Sonic’s bed at a loss. How could this support the both of them and their mass of needle-sharp spines? There were methods of tying back the bundles into a crude ponytail, but Sonic had wasted many mornings trying to comb the ugly scars of indentations out one too many times. He wouldn't dare ask Shadow to go through the same pain. Still, one wrong toss or turn during the night and someone was bound to wake up with wounds.

Facing their inevitable, Shadow crawled under the covers first and settled on his side facing his blue parallel. Sonic followed suit and slipped carefully into bed as well. So far so good. Now all they had to do was stay in this exact position for the rest of the night. An arm slipped around to the small of his back and Sonic shivered.

“Your inhibitors are cold.”

“You want them off?”

“ _No._ ”

Shadow laughed to himself and apologized with a few kisses. Peach fingers slipped between black ones. He was so incredibly lucky to have someone as hard-headed as himself to understand the things that made him so distant from finding a partner. They were both victims of unintentionally hurting others with their spines: Sonic profusely apologizing after nicking Knuckles to the point of drawing blood in friendly spars, and Shadow allowing Gerald to blunt his spines after accidentally scratching Maria’s arm and sending her to the ARK infirmary for precautionary treatment. Some things just weren’t fair in this life.

“I wish we were like those frogs that can’t hurt each other with their own poison.”

He heard a low hum from above and felt Shadow's free hand slip around the dip of his waist to play with his tail.

“I think a biological toxin is much different from a physical sensation we can inflict.”

“You know what I mean. You’re my frog.”

* * *

Sonic was always the first to be up in the mornings, surprisingly. The younger of the two had been awake for a few minutes already, staring at one of the surrounding walls covered in old cult classic movie posters. He internally sighed in relief upon feeling strong arms still wrapped around him and took to resting his muzzle in the warm white fur of Shadow’s chest. He enjoyed the occasional cuddle, but their current position was something _very_ different from what they both were familiar with.

In a way, he regretted not persuading Shadow into spending the night sooner. Working with GUN only solidified his reclusive personality. A barrier was constantly up between them and it was rarely brought down. Most of their mutual peers were quick to depict him as an arrogant asshole, and Sonic never really understood why. He blamed it on his blunt nature. Sometimes, situations couldn’t be sugar-coated. Shadow could care less about whose feelings he hurt. If something was out of place, he would say something.

Tails was beside himself when Sonic first told him about their relationship. It was difficult to keep things undercover when hiding it from someone as bright as his roommate. Tails was young, but he wasn’t stupid. He could take a wild guess that Shadow had been around, considering the fact that he’d found black fur in their dryer’s lint trap often enough to warrant some questions. Not even his best friend was immune to cautious behavior when he came over, as if Shadow would lash out at the fox in his own home.

Sonic remembered the glint of fright in Tails’ eyes when he saw the only Mobian capable of matching his friend’s speed and power just casually sitting at the kitchen table with coffee in one hand and a communicator in the other. It wasn’t like he meant to treat Shadow with vigilance, and both hedgehogs understood where he was coming from in relation to their past. As time went by, however, Shadow showed himself to be a welcome new asset to their small family dynamic. He would take care of household chores and maintenance to lessen the load on them both, and would even assist the young fox in his workshop by carrying imported parts inside as they arrived from their manufacturer. Shadow was shaping up to be a fantastic step-brother.

Sonic gingerly moved to look up at his sleeping counterpart.

Shadow’s usual scowl was replaced with an almost serene expression. The ears that usually dominated as his most emotive feature were flattened against his head. Soft breaths escaped his lips rhythmically. Even his spines, which had been the height of their concern, were lowered into a relaxed state. He wished they could stay like this for the entire day; Shadow curled up under a blanket dreaming to his heart’s content. No enemies to waste time on, no responsibilities to the public, just napping with his boyfriend for an entire day.

Shadow began to stir from his rest. He inhaled a sharp breath, mouth opening in a yawn and putting his sharp canines on display. His eyes slowly cracked open and glazed over to his partner. Sonic burrowed his muzzle back into his now unkempt chest fur and smiled.

“Hey.”

A low purr resonated deep within Shadow’s chest as he kissed the soft shell of Sonic’s ear.

“I didn’t stick you, did I?”

“Nope.”

Thank _Chaos_.

“I wanna play a game called connect the dots. It’s real simple.”

Sonic nipped at his boyfriend's neck, being rewarded with a small sigh. He ran a hand down the black hedgehog’s tout abdomen and past the small mound between his legs, settling at his inner thigh.

“Tails goes out early to work in his workshop on the weekends.”

The hand traveled slowly and steadily to slip over his hardening arousal.

“What day is it, Shadow?”

Sneaky blue bastard. No wonder he wanted him to spend the night so bad; so he could pull a stunt like this and see him vulnerable like he loved. Shadow bit out another groan as his partner sunk his teeth past his fur down to the skin of his shoulder.

“Saturday, I believe.”

“And what was that thing you said last night about not letting me suck you off when Tails was in the house?”

Just as he was at the end of his rope and about to pounce on the other, a short cadence of beeps suddenly came from the nightstand. Shadow groaned, uttered a short apology, and grabbed his watch. He cleared his throat before speaking, being careful not to let on what they were just up to.

“Yeah.”

_Well good morning to you too, sunshine.’_

Sonic couldn't help but snort out a laugh. If anyone could bite back at Shadow’s attitude and not be threatened with violence, it would definitely be Rouge.

“What do you need?”

_The Commander wants to meet with us privately for a debriefing. He wants us to meet him at his office today at noon.’_

“See you then.” Shadow growled. He tossed his communicator back on the table and rubbed the heel of his palm into his eye.

“Can’t catch a break, can ya’?” Sonic grinned.

“I suppose not.”

His meeting was a few hours away, still leaving plenty of time with his partner. He pulled Sonic over to rest on top of him, short claws gripping the blue hedgehog’s back and strong thighs framing his body.

“But they can wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> Lemme know what you guys think!


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